(From right to left) Senior WR Keaton Yates jumps for a pass on a seam route, Junior QB Nate Meacham rips a pass, Senior WR Mike Meisenzahl reels in a sideline pass. Photo Credit: Peter Carosa
Honeoye Falls-Lima Cougars Varsity Football Overview – Fall 2024
Head Coach: John Russ (13th Season)
Class: B
2023 Overall Record: 8-3 (including Sectionals)
2023 Playoffs: Lost Sectional Championship to Monroe Red Jackets, 26-0
Key Losses: Ben Cook (RB/DL), Austyn Crego (OL/DL), Aaron Fasick (OL/DL), Landon Hammond (WR/DB), Cooper Levine (WR/DL), Matt Meacham (QB), Andrew Wanzenried (WR/DB)/DL)
Key Returnees: Owen Englert (OL/DL), Conor Finn (RB/DB), Harrison Houle (RB/LB), Alex Steinhoff (WR/LB), Keaton Yates (WR/DB)
Fall 2024 Preview
Coming off the program’s fourth Sectional Championship appearance in five years, the Cougars have established themselves as a perennial title contender in Class B. Although, sometimes staying at the top is harder than getting there.
Fourteen players from last season graduated in June, including five 1st Team Class B All-Stars and two 2nd Team Class B All-Stars. The 1st Team headlined by Co-Offensive Player of Year Matt Meacham also included Ben Cook, Austyn Crego, Aaron Fasick and Andrew Wanzenried, while Landon Hammond and Cooper Levine were named to the 2nd team. Two returning players were named as All-Stars a season ago: Owen Englert (1st Team) and Conor Finn (2nd Team).
Joining Englert and Finn as the key returnees for this Fall, are seniors Harrison Houle, Alex Steinhoff, and Keaton Yates. The Sentinel had a chance to speak with Houle and Steinhoff, both linebackers who are looking to uphold the standard set by previous players. Steinhoff said one of the key messages he tries to pass onto younger players is “Take the time to learn your responsibilities defensively and do your job.” Houle added, “You don’t have to make every tackle or get an interception on every play, but you need to do your job so that the team can be successful.”
Houle will be moving to middle linebacker and serve as the center of the defense. When asked about the change, Houle said, “I am learning to see the run game differently while making the transition, I need to trust myself to read my keys and react to the play.”
With the first game only a week away, Steinhoff commented on the team’s progress since the first practice: “We’re definitely getting better each day, we’ve still got a lot to work on, but we have been putting the effort in.” Houle spoke about how the team has been bonding leading up to game one: “It’s a brotherhood, if you will,” he said. “It’s a three-month season and we spend countless hours together. In the summer we are together four hours a day lifting weights and practicing and we’ve become very close.” Both Houle and Steinhoff are looking forward to their first game and the start of their senior year this week.
The HF-L offense will have both a new quarterback and a new play-caller this Fall. Junior Nate Meacham will succeed his older brother at the QB position, while head coach John Russ will take on the offensive play-calling responsibilities following the retirement of Offensive Coordinator Dan Hoyt. Russ last called offensive plays between the OC tenures of Bill Donegan and Hoyt. The Sentinel asked Russ if the playbook will change from a season ago, “The playbook is pretty much going to stay the same, but I’ll be putting my own wrinkle on the play-calling strategy and sequence.” Russ added, “The game has evolved in the last five years since I last called a game and there are certain things you see on TV or online that I’d like to incorporate into our offense.” With Russ moving to the offense, assistant coach Brad Herman will take over the defensive play-callings duties, a role he had for the JV team over the last couple of seasons.
Despite the roster boasting seventeen seniors, less than half were starters last Fall. However, many did get some varsity snaps on special teams or in relief duty. The Sentinel asked head coach John Russ if there were any JV players from last season that have the chance to be contributors by the end of this year. Russ noted two, “Junior Chris Settles playing defensive end is going to be a tough kid and sophomore Grady Goodberlet playing safety and wide receiver may take some time to get his feet wet, but he’s a good athlete that we’re hopeful for.”
Fall 2024 Outlook
One of the biggest storylines coming into last season was the creation of the Wayne-Finger Lakes Independent Football League, which saw some Class B schools opt out of Section V federation Scheduling and join the independent league. For the 2024 season, the Wayne-Finger Lakes Independent Football League has expanded to 12 schools further fracturing Class B. Geneva and Wayne, who both competed in Class B a season ago, were among the four new schools joining the league, while another former Class B team, Dansville/Wayland-Cohocton, opted to play as independent. As a result, only five schools make up Class B for football this Fall (in order by enrollment): Eastridge, Vertus, Rochester Prep/EMHCS, Honeoye Falls-Lima, and Batavia. Monroe moved up to Class A, while Eastridge moved down to Class B.
With only five teams in Class B, HF-L will have an unusual schedule that has them playing both Eastridge and Vertus Charter twice during the regular season. Head coach John Russ said on the schedule, “Whoever they put on our schedule that’s who we have to play and if that means playing a school twice, then so be it.” The Cougars will face two non-Class B schools throughout the season: ER/Gananda (Class C) and Greece Athena (Class A). Batavia will once again make the trip east to Honeoye Falls this season, except it will be a Saturday afternoon game during the Cougar’s homecoming weekend. The annual matchup has become quite the rivalry game circled on the calendars by fans and media members.
Similar to last Fall, HF-L will open their season against two tough opponents, although this year they will both be road games. From there, the schedules balance back out a bit. The Cougars will face a challenging three game stretch in October when they face Batavia, Greece Athena, and Eastridge in a row. If the young team can continuously improve every week and be playing their best ball in November, then maybe HF-L will be back in the Sectional Championship competing for the district’s second football title.
Fall 2024 Schedule
Sept. 6 – @ ER/Gananda
Sept. 13– @ Eastridge
Sept. 20 – vs. Vertus Charter*
Sept. 28 – @ Rochester Prep/EMHCS
Oct. 5 – vs. Batavia* (HOMECOMING)
Oct. 10 – @ Greece Athena
Oct. 18 – vs. Eastridge*
Oct. 25 – vs. Vertus Charter* (SENIOR NIGHT)
*Game will be broadcast live by The Sentinel
